Outside Magazine, Nov 2002

Stories

POSTs


With western drought lowering Lake Powell daily, Glenn Canyon fans dream of going all the way

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE For more photos and an audio interview with Andrew McLean, CLICK HERE EXPEDITION: ARCS OVER THE ARCTIC TEAM: ANDREW MCLEAN, BRAD BARLAGE LOCATION: BAFFIN ISLAND, NUNAVUT, CANADA OBJECTIVE: TO EXPLORE FJORDS AND VALLEYS BY KITE IN SEARCH OF…

Every adventurer knows those magical moments when it all flows—and those wretched times when it won't

Trek the Bay of Fires and soak in Tasmania's wild northeastern shores

Who would want a $100 million theme park devoted to the belching drama of volcanoes? The French, that's who—if they can ever stop arguing about it.

An ex-soviet launches a low-tech revolution

High over Hemingway's Africa, our hero discovered a last epic feat somehow still undone. Going where no man has ever bothered to go before, he vowed to become the first person to descend Mount Kilimanjaro on a pair of stubby Kneissel Big Foot snowboards. Never mind that it was illegal, and basically insane.

True fitness follows the adage "Use it or lose it." Turns out the brain follows the same rule.

Skis and snowboards to carve every mountain

After its triumphant coming-out party in Salt Lake City, American snowboarding faces a bright future. Is that a good thing?

A vetern journalist argues that the ski industry has sold its soul to Wall Street, turning too many mountain towns into overbuilt Disneyfied retail hubs. But don't despair: All over snow country, a back-to-basics counterrevolution is under way.

Clip in and hang on for the 31st America's Cup—a game of skill, guile, wealth, power, pettiness, paranoia, espionage, and egomania. And the sailing's not bad, either.

Windbags on a mission! Fighting fires with new super-soaker blimps!

THE FOUNDING FISH Eric Swanson Eric Swanson BY JOHN MCPHEE (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $25) MCPHEE ON SHAD—what could be better? Famous for luring readers deep into surprising and esoteric subjects, from Florida citrus (Oranges, 1967) to the Swiss Army (La Place de la Concorde Suisse,…

The robo-voices of weather just got (a little) livelier

A famed Texas climbing route gets cloned indoors

An assault by Frodo, one of Jane Goodall's big-screen chimps, results in the death of an African child


F E A T U R E S

THE COOL SELLOUT
Last February, Olympic medalists Ross Powers, Danny Kass, and J.J. Thomas—better known as Team Sweep—became the power punks of snowboarding. Now that they’re rich, rad, and famous, can the pipe jockeys still subvert the dominant paradigm, or is their sport’s image about to go as pop as MTV?
By Eric Hagerman

KNIVES IN THE WATER
The 2003 America’s Cup is shaping up to be an unprecedented battle royale, with NASA-caliber boat technology, high-stakes espionage, and enough sponsor cash to make Bill Gates blanch. An inside report on yachting’s most predatory race.
By Tim Zimmermann

THE FALL LINE MEETS THE BOTTOM LINE
A veteran journalist argues that the ski industry has sold its soul to Wall Street, turning too many mountain towns into overbuilt, Disneyfied retail hubs. But don’t despair—a back-to-basics counterrevolution is underway.
By Hal Clifford

I POACHED THE WHITE ELEPHANT
Witness now the first (we’re pretty sure) harrowing (well, kinda) descent (albeit partial) of Mount Kilimanjaro on mini-skis. Hey, it’s harder than you think.
By Eric Hansen

D E P A R T M E N T S

DISPATCHES
The West’s terrible drought has lowered Lake Powell by 80 feet, giving new life to an old cause: DRAINING GLEN CANYON . PLUS: Kite skiers sail across Baffin Island, picking off 19 FIRST DESCENTS . A shocking death shakes JANE GOODALL’S WORLD . NOAA weather reports get (a little) livelier . Fire-fighting BLIMPS may soon have their day. A top climbing route gets CLONED . And this month’s RADAR .

THE WILD FILE
Does sleep deprivation cause bodily harm? Do mountain goats ever take a spill? Why do you still feel the motion of the ocean after stepping off a boat?
By Brad Wetzler

TASMANIAN REVELS
This south-of-Australia getaway offers temperate rainforests, windswept moors, and nary a living soul in sight. PLUS: Winter’s here! Your guide to NORTH AMERICA’s FRESHEST SNOW and FROSTIEST DEALS .

OUT THERE
France is blowing hot and cold over Vulcania, a $100 million theme park celebrating mountains that smoke and belch.
By Mark Adams

THE HARD WAY
In Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountains, two climbers attempt a marathon of serial summiting—an enchainment—only to find that fitness and experience aren’t enough when the groove won’t flow.
By Mark Jenkins

REVIEW
DOWNHILL REPORT ’03
Allow us to present this year’s BEST RIDES , custom-built to dominate your favorite hill. PLUS: Deluxe slopewear essentials for everyone.

BODYWORK
Can you TRAIN YOUR BRAIN like you pump out your reps? Yes, and we’ve got the plan to do it. PLUS: An ex-soviet launches a low-tech REVOLUTION .

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